TWEETIE PIE

The nonprofit world is atwitter* about using social media to connect with prospective supporters and to get messages out to the broader public. Todd Cohen of the Stanford Blog recently wrote that nonprofits “should start looking at building social media into their overall fundraising and communication strategies. Often reluctant to move beyond traditional strategies, whether or not those actually produce positive results, nonprofits should look at social-media tools that are changing the way people communicate, connect and spur one another to action.”

"If you don't get started now, you're going to be playing catch-up," says Beth Kanter, a social-media strategist who is serving as scholar in residence for nonprofits and social media at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in Los Altos, Calif.

Questions, I have questions: What nonprofit organizations are employing blogsters? Is there hard data on ROI yet? Can the internet be used to draw in large donations? You think none of that can be done? Watch this space for information on a future e-Philanthropy seminar. We’ve got some tech/media savvy early-adopters in development and communication departments willing to present on texting, tweeting, YouTubing, friending and other internet socializing. Interested?

* pun intended